J.K. Rowling voted entrepreneurial icon

Young women in the UK have chosen a writer, not a businessperson, as their most inspirational and admired entrepreneurial role model.

A poll of the nation's 14 to 24-year-olds by Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) found that young businesswomen most want to emulate the success of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.

The writer was followed in the survey by fashion designer Stella McCartney and successful businesswoman Deborah Meaden, star of the BBC's Dragons' Den.

In addition, more than 90 per cent of respondents claimed that female role models will help young women to get ahead in the business world, although over 80 per cent feel they have to work harder than men to succeed.

Karen Moir, director of organisational development at CFS, said: 'Inspiring the next generation to realise their dreams and potential is vital for business and the UK economy if it is to achieve its full potential.'

Rowling was also proved popular recently when a poll commissioned to mark World Book Day found the Harry Potter series is the literary work of the last decade which people most want to pass on to the next generation.